Certified products.
Approximately 250 million automatic sprinklers with international approvals (FM, UL, VDS or LPCB) are installed worldwide each year, of which only 2.5 million are installed in LATAM, representing 1% of the total. This percentage is far below what it should be, given that the region accounts for 8% of the world’s population and generates 8% of the world’s GDP.
There is a big gap in the use of these firefighting technologies (sprinklers). between countries considered as developed (17% of the population and 49% of the world GDP), and those countries in the process of development, where the implementation and use of these technologies (in developed countries), have shown significant advances in firefighting.
The outlook is even worse for LATAM, as there are 100 million sprinklers that do not have the quality for proven certifications or do not comply with international standards, which casts doubt on their good performance during a fire.
In fact, if the price is too good to be true, it’s probably fake, and not a product you want to get your hands on. These products will most likely fail during a fire, we must be responsible and not want to think that we have the wit or lack of ethics to buy sprinkler sprays. Unfortunately, many of these low-quality products have been installed in many countries in the region.
Another of LATAM PCI’s main purposes is to raise awareness of the problems in the region, to avoid wasting resources and time on products that will never work properly. Even if they appear to be well designed, installed and maintained correctly, poor quality products must be replaced by ones that guarantee their correct operation during an emergency, all that investment will be lost if we do not use certified products, which will affect the integrity of our industry.
Likewise, the use of automatic fire sprinkler systems has been expanding thanks to the various actions that these associations carry out in their respective countries and actions such as education and training programs, lobbying with authorities to promote the adoption of international standards and UL listings, FM Approved.
It is therefore necessary for authorities, consumers, system installers and users to be able to identify between a certified product and one that is not. The latter put the lives of the occupants of a property and the property at risk, exposing your reputation and the continuity of your business.
Therefore, we recommend the use of certified and regulated products under local and international standards endorsed by internationally recognized laboratories.
It is essential that laboratories not only analyze products to verify initial compliance with minimum performance standards, but that follow-up services ensure the continued quality of production.
For more information on product certification services by internationally recognized laboratories, please visit the following sites:
… united against fire